Sudden flooding a phenomenon called meteo-tsunami

The Times of India, Paul Fernandes, TNN, Mar 25, 2011

PANAJI: The unusual flooding of Morjim and Baga beaches showed signs of respite on Thursday, but a tsunami expert said it may have been caused by a meteo-tsunami on the lines of a similar phenomenon in Kerala during the past decade.

"There were no strange meteorological disturbances seen on the state's coastline," the source said. There was no depression in atmospheric pressure nor was the wind abnormally strong, though it blew in gusts and may have contributed partly to the flooding.

"It appears that a wave from a storm far in the sea travelled a long distance to the state's coast," the source said. A similar phenomenon, which local people in Kerala mistakenly thought was a tsunami, had hit the southern state's Poonthura coast in May 2005, April 2007 and February 2008.

Referred to as 'kallakkadal' (literally sea surges in unnoticed like a thief) by Kerala fishermen, the flooding of the coast that followed has been documented in international journals, sources said.

The impact of flooding is more intense when it occurs on supermoon spring tides. "The case of Baga and Morjim was one such, and it was caused by wave set up" the source said. The sea water level rise showed signs of receding in Baga on Thursday.

"The water level rose seven metres on Tuesday, five metres on Wednesday but only three metres on Thursday," shack owner Mario D'Souza said.

"We had never seen anything like this earlier," Morjim shack owner Jenny Madeira told TOI.

Though the impact and destruction caused by geophysical tsunamis has evoked fear globally, the impact of meteo-tsunamis is lesser known, yet they can cause havoc on a smaller scale in fewer locations.

"The event in Baga and Morjim, unlike Kerala, may be a new event," the source said.

The flooding events and detailed accounts of meteotsunamis in the world has been provided by NIO scientist Anthony Joseph in his book, "Tsunamis: Detection, monitoring and early-warning technologies", published in February 2011.

Huge sea waves on the coast or meteorological tsunamis are caused by atmospheric gravity waves, atmospheric pressure jumps, wind waves and other factors, but may result in less impact.

"Other mechanisms that may result in a meteo-tsunami include tide-generated internal waves, wave superposition, wind-current interaction, wave-current interaction and atmospheric shockwaves (say, from volcanic activity)," the source added.

The atmospherically generated ocean waves, whose origin remains shrouded in mystery, have been observed in recent sea-level records from coasts, among others, of the Adriatic Sea, English Channel, and Washington (USA) and notoriously in several locations in the Mediterranean Sea.

"Meteo-tsunamis some times closely resemble rogue waves, freak waves, or giant waves," the source said. The sea enters land without any meteorological disturbances and no warning signs.

Jakarta sinking fast in wake of construction boom

Hans David Tampubolon, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 02/07/2011

A recent study concluded that land subsidence in Jakarta accelerated at an alarming pace in the past four decades, and if no remedial measures were taken, the northern part of the city could sink below sea level in the next decade.

Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) researcher Heri Andreas said the persistent inundation of North Jakarta would only get worse in the future.

“Several areas in the northern coastal region of Jakarta will subside by 60 centimeters by 2020. In 2050, the area could sit 2.2 meters lower than in 2008,” said Heri, who is also a member of the Jakarta Coast Defense Strategy (JCDS).

Heri predicted that if no action was taken to mitigate land subsidence, flooding and high tides would contribute to 5,100 hectares of land in North Jakarta being submerged in 2020 and another 6,000 hectares in 2050.

A worst-case scenario, however, put the figures at 16,200 hectares in 2020 and 18,100 hectares in 2050.

“In this scenario, the northern coast of Jakarta could be 2 meters under water by 2020 and 6.9 meters under water by 2050,” Heri said.

Global sea levels have risen at a rate of about 1 to 2 millimeters per year on average, and this rate is expected to increase to 5 millimeters per year by 2050.

A recent study by ITB showed that the sea level in the Jakarta northern coastal region rose at a rate of 5.7 millimeters per year.

The most recent finding by the JCDS showed that around 40 percent of land in Jakarta was already below sea level.

Given the finding, the JCDS predicted that within between the next 10 to 20 years, 50 percent of the city would lie below sea level.

The JCDS data also showed that between 1974 and 2010, the Muara Karang area in North Jakarta had sunk 4.1 meters. West Cengkareng in Tangerang had sunk 2.5 meters in the same period.

The Daan Mogot area in West Jakarta and Ancol in North Jakarta sank 1.97 meters and 1.88 meters respectively in the same period.

Between 1974 and 1982, land subsidence rates were not as significant as today. The problem became worse after the region saw a construction boom in property and industry.

A number of dikes constructed by the city, including in Muara Angke, Muara Karang, Pluit, Cilincing and Marunda, are no longer capable of holding back the water that has increased rates of land subsidence.

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo recently admitted that the city was sinking at an alarming rate.

“We have no other choice but to construct a new embankment in Jakarta Bay,” Fauzi said.

He said the city needed a giant seawall to protect the capital from flooding, but added that construction could only begin in 2025.

The construction of the seawall is a joint project run by the city administration and the JCDS, which is funded by the Dutch government.

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Jakarta to Build Sea Wall

Tempo Interactive, Friday, 04 February, 2011

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:Researchers from Jakarta Coastal Defense Strategy (JCDS) Consortium recommended that the Jakarta Government build a giant sea wall to manage floods. The sea wall will extend 60 kilometers from Tangerang, Jakarta up to Bekasi. “The construction is made possible because the technology has been applied in New Orleans, US,” said member of the JDCS Consortium, Heri Andreas, last Tuesday.

The sea wall was recommended to manage two big threats causing frequent flooding in Jakarta, which are ground subsidence by 10- centimeters per year and the rise of the sea level by 5 millimeter per year. The construction of the sea wall along the North coast of Jakarta is judged to be effective in reducing the threats.

Heri admitted sea walls were not the only way to manage the floods. Another method would be to stop ground water usage and refilling it back. But total stoppage would be unlikely because it is one of the main sources of water.

Even though there are plans to a water refilling plant at the Jatiluhur dam area, the Jakarta Government is still not ready to do this. “By reducing ground water intake, the ground will still subside by 10 to 15 centimeters per year. Even if we refill the water, the ground will still subside in 5 years time,” said Heru,” Meanwhile the danger of rising sea levels cannot be solved because it is caused by global warming.

Heri said that the government has tried to solve the problem partially by building embankments in Kamal Muara and other sites. But it is still regarded as insufficient.

RENNY FITRIA SARI | ENDRI K

Govt urged to declare extreme weather national disaster

Antara News, Tue, January 25 2011

Related News

• Aceh`s flood affect 23,770 people
• Govt coordinating efforts to face prolonged extreme weather
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• Govt to discuss extreme weather with country`s mayors, district chiefs

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The People`s Coalition for Fisheries Justice (Kiara) has asked the government to declare the current extreme weather conditions a national disaster as they were preventing thousands of Indonesian fishermen from making their living.

"There are 53 districts and cities in Indonesia which have been impacted by the present extreme weather conditions and 550,000 people are being victimized. Looking at the facts, we urge the government to declare present extreme weather conditions a national disaster," Kiara Secretary General M Riza Damanik said here on Tuesday.

Riza also criticized the divergence between the data collected by Kiara and those issued Marine and Fisheries Ministry where the latter stated extreme weather had impacted 41 districts and cities in Indonesia and a total of 473,983 people.

"The ministry fails to count the damage done in several areas. In Jakarta province, for example, the ministry only studies areas such as Muara Angke and Thousand Islands while there are also other areas like Cilincing, Marunda and Kali Baru where the fishermen cannot go to the sea due to bad weather," Riza said.

Meanwhile Secretary to an NGO called Coalition of Indonesian Traditional Fishermen (KNTI) Dedy Ramanta said the government was slow in handling the problem faced by fishermen.

He suggested the government to set up an insurance system for Indonesian fishermen to help them survive when harsh conditions happened. He also said the government must accurately note the number of fishermen impacted by extreme weather in Indonesia. Such action was needed to ensure that aid was given to the right persons, he said.

Extreme weather in Indonesia is predicted to last until April 2011.

‘Super-Extreme’ Weather Is the Worst on Record

Jakarta Globe, Nurfika Osman, August 19, 2010

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Jakarta. Indonesia has been experiencing its most extreme weather conditions in recorded history, meteorologists warned on Wednesday as torrential rains continued to pound the capital.

Motorbikes splash through deep puddles of water
after heavy rains lashed the Semanggi area
of Jakarta on Wednesday. JG Photo/Safir Makki

All regions across the archipelago have been experiencing abnormal and often catastrophic weather, an official from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said.

“We have reached a super-extreme level of weather this year, the first time in our history, and this is much worse than what we experienced back in 1998, when theLa Nina caused extreme weather in the country,” Edvin Aldrian warned.

Edvin, who leads the climate change and air quality division at the agency, told the Jakarta Globe that a combination of a heating planet and the La Nina climate cycle were behind the unseasonable downpours.

“The combination of global warming and the La Nina phenomenon makes everything exceed normalcy,” he said, adding that global warming causes higher temperature in sea waters, and La Nina boosts humidity and the likeliness of rains.

Sea temperatures, Edvin said, were also at a level considered normal for Indonesia’s rainy season, not for the dry season. “It is about 28 to 29[degrees] Celsius now. Normally, for August it should have been around 24 to 26 degrees.”

Generally at this time of year, Indonesia is supposed to be in the midst of the dry season and entering the transition to wetter months.

“Inconditions like this, tornadoes are likely to occur,” Edvin warned.

“It can happen in any region in the country, starting from the western part ofIndonesia to the east.”

He also said the extreme conditions were causing high waves, posing a threat to ships in Indonesian waters. “At the least, the waves will reach 3.5 meters and can reach up to more than five meters. And strong winds can make the waves even higher.

“The Southern part of Sumatra and Java are the most affected areas so far,” he said. “This condition is forecast to start to reach the eastern part of Indonesia within one to two weeks.”

Based on a BMKG forecast, the provinces of Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, West Java, West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, Maluku,

West Papua and Papua would see prolonged high rains, with more than 400 millimeters falling from now through October. More than 100 mm of rain is categorized as high intensity.

The rest of the country is expected to begin entering the rainy season again in November.

The extreme weather has already affected the country’s agricultural output, especially in Java where there are many farms, said Winny Dian Wibawa, the Agriculture Ministry’s director for horticulture.

“Crops like melon, mango and mushrooms are experiencing delayed harvests.

“It puts the farmers at a disadvantage as they now cannot produce many good quality crops,” he said, adding that the excess rains made fruit softer and less sweet.

Izzul Waro, an analyst from the Transportation Study Institute (Instran), told the Globe that the extreme weather would also cause headaches for commuters and truckers, especially in big cities like Jakarta.

“The conditions become worse because the drainage system in the city’s roads is bad. Puddles of water will occur with just a bit of rain,” he said, adding that traffic would only worsen during the extended rainy season.

The capital has seen heavy downpours in the past two days, causing deep inundations and burst river banks. On Tuesday, at least five neighborhoods in South Jakarta reported flooding.

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Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran top world disaster risk rankings

Google/AFP

PARIS — Bangladesh, Indonesia and Iran are the countries that are the most vulnerable to natural disasters, according to a study released on Thursday.

Asia's twin giants, China and India, join them in the 15 countries that, out of 229, are rated as "extreme" risk.

The Natural Disasters Risk Index (NDRI) is compiled by a British risk advisory firm, Maplecroft, on the basis of disasters that occurred from 1980 to 2010.

It draws on a basket of indicators, including the number and frequency of these events, the total deaths that were caused and the death toll as a proportion of the country's population.

Disasters include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, storms, flooding, drought, landslides, heatwaves and epidemics.

"Poverty is an important factor in countries where both the frequency and impacts of natural disasters are severe," said Maplecroft's environmental analyst, Anna Moss.

"Poor infrastructure, plus dense overcrowding in high-risk areas like flood plains, river banks, steep slopes and reclaimed land, continually result in high casualty figures."

According to the NDRI's figures, Bangladesh has suffered more than 191,000 fatalities as a result of natural disasters in the past 30 years, and Indonesia a nearly equal number, the vast majority of which were inflicted by the December 2004 tsunami.

In Iran, the big vulnerability factor is earthquakes, which claimed 74,000 lives over this period.

India, ranked 11th, lost 141,000 lives -- including 50,000 to earthquakes, 40,000 to floods, 15,000 to epidemics and 23,000 to storms -- while the tally in China, rated 12th, was 148,000 lives, of which 87,000 were lost in the 2008 Sichuan quake.

Three G8 countries are considered "high risk," the next category down from "extreme."

They are France (17th in the overall rankings) and Italy (18th), which were hit by killer heatwaves in 2003 and 2006, and the United States (37th), whacked by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The countries least at risk are Andorra, Bahrain, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Qatar, San Marino and the United Arab Emirates.

Moss pointed to experts' warnings of the impact of climate change on rainfall. Disruption of weather patterns is predicted to lead to more frequent and bigger episodes of drought and flood.

"Our research highlights the need for even the wealthiest countries to focus on disaster risk reduction," she said.

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